Page 26 of Two Is Better Than One

"I was excited about the brunch, but not for Garrett. I just wanted to go to the brunch, that's all."

Her shock and discomfort surprised me. I thought she would be thankful to have Garrett come by. "Oh, okay. Well. I'm sorry. That's what I meant when I said all our friends were meeting us out here. Garret texted earlier. He was telling Brooks how impressed he was with you and how he wanted to take us over to Vincent Mann's house, and I told Brooks to invite him."

I stopped talking and followed Allie's gaze and saw Casey and his cousin AJ talking to each other at the other side of the pool. Garrett was coming up from the right, and I watched as Allie noticed him with a slight look of dread.

I knew my twin, and I could see that she felt awkward about Garrett's arrival. I had no idea this would happen. I had been preoccupied with being smitten with Casey, and I hadn't even considered Garrett's presence might have been a bad thing until now.

"I honestly thought you would be happy, with how you're collecting his art and stuff."

"It's okay," she said, offering me a fake simile before turning to look at Garrett as he approached.

My sister stood up and greeted him, and I stood up and walked away as they started to talk.

We only stayed at the pool for a half-hour or so. We ended up going to one of Garrett's friend's house who was an infamous Miami socialite. His name was Vincent Mann, and he had an unbelievable home with exotic things like monkeys and a giant room with gymnastics equipment and trampoline floors. He had an aquarium with rare jellyfish. Garrett was close with him, and he got us invited over there, so we took him up on it. Casey had heard about the mansion, and he was interested in seeing it, so he and AJ went with us while Brooks stayed back at the suite.

The four of us rode in the car together, and we stayed at the mansion for a few hours—long enough to share some food with the host and see the highlights of his home. Allie was neutral with Garrett, but I could tell she didn’t like him. We had fun that afternoon, though, experiencing things we had never experienced before.

On our way home, we rode with a driver, and the four of us were in the back seat which had two rows of seats that faced each other. The gentlemen were on one side and Allie and I were on the other. I sat directly across from AJ and diagonal to Casey.

I pretended to be uninterested in Casey, but it was difficult. I noticed everything about him. He was a gorgeous specimen to behold in the swimming pool, and then he kept being amazing the whole time we were at Vincent's. He was confident and bold but laid-back, and he looked like a male model. He knew just how to pull his hair back where it looked flawless while appearing to be effortless and tousled.

Casey and AJ had taken to the background while we explored the mansion, but I kept noticing him—I watched to make sure he was there with me.

The following week, Casey would have to go back to work, and we would be escorted by the new bodyguard Brooks had found. I was absolutely dreading that moment. Casey was more than a bodyguard to me. I was already attached to him. I didn't want him to leave me, and it was inevitable. My sister was a factor, and my career was a factor. I had to keep my distance because falling for him could be a dangerous distraction from my busy life.

"Are you guys in a hurry to leave when we get back?" I asked while we were in the back seat. "I've been working on a song. I have a question about whether I want to play it fast or slow. I showed Allie, and she can't decide either. I was thinking I'd play it when we get back, if you guys have time."

"I vote for having it faster," Casey said.

I cut my eyes at him. "You haven't heard it yet."

"Yeah, but I already know I'll like it better faster. I get impatient with ballads."

"With all ballads?" I asked. "You don't like any slow songs?"

"No, I do, I mean, maybe I… I don't know. At the moment, I can't think of any slow songs that I would seek out to listen to—but I'm sure they're fine."

"Well, do you just want to vote for up-tempo and not hear it?"

"No, I want to hear it," Casey said.

"Yeah, I want to get a vote," AJ said.

"I can just about predict what I'll say, but I never said I didn't want to hear it." Casey looked at me with a teasing half-smile, and his gaze was piercing.

"Did you know Van Morrison wanted Brown Eyed Girl to be a ballad?" AJ asked.

"He did?" I asked.

"Yeah, the label made him change it to make it catchier. He never liked it that way."

"Sounds like AJ might be voting for a ballad," I said.

Casey shook his head. "We need to hear it both ways," he said.

Brooks wasn't around when we got back. He left a note saying he was close by if we needed anything. Casey and AJ came into the suite with us, just like any other security guard would. I wasn't famous enough to need them around the clock, and we all knew it. They would be excusing themselves as soon as I was finished playing the song.

Within a minute, they all found a place sitting around the living room. I went into my bedroom and retrieved my favorite guitar before coming back to sit with them.

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